Ukraine needs $37 billion in Western financial aid to keep its economy afloat in the face of Russia's nearly two-year-long invasion, Prime Minister Denys Chmygal said on Wednesday, as the country fears a collapse in Western support.
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The country received $42.6 billion in external financing last year, 27% of which was donations, Mr. Chmygal said, citing the EU, the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, the IMF and the World Bank main economic supporter of Kiev.
“This year’s needs are more than $37 billion. We count on regular, stable and timely assistance from our partners,” Mr. Chmygal said during his government's first meeting of 2024, which took place against the backdrop of intensifying Russian attacks in recent days.
He assured that Ukraine is simultaneously increasing its budget revenues, while almost half of its spending – 43.9 billion euros, or about 22% of national GDP – is spent on defense and security, according to the law on the 2024 budget adopted by the Rada, which Ukrainian Parliament, last November.
In 2023, Ukrainian authorities had indicated that they would need $41 billion in external financing from their allies and international organizations to keep the economy going.
New commitments of Western aid to Ukraine have fallen sharply amid political disagreements in Europe and the United States, falling to their lowest level since the Russian invasion began in early 2022, the German research institute Kiel Institute said in early December.
“The outlook is uncertain (…) as the largest outstanding commitment – the European Union – has not been approved and aid from the United States is declining,” explains the institute, which lists the military, financial and humanitarian aid pledged since the beginning delivered to Ukraine during the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
An amount of 50 billion euros intended to consolidate European support for Ukraine is blocked at least until the next EU summit in early February. The new American envelope is at this point being blocked in the American Congress by the reluctance of elected Republican officials.
In total, Ukraine's allies and major international organizations (World Bank, IMF, etc.) have promised almost 255 billion euros in aid since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including 182 billion in short-term aid (already delivered or planned within a year). ).
These commitments include 141 billion euros in financial aid, almost 16 billion euros in humanitarian aid and 98 billion euros in military aid.